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Vanity Fair Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the ag... -
Christopher's statement "I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This ad...
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Mr Steve Wasserman, Christopher Hitchens' literary agent, kindly replied to my query about a possible memorial. Posted with permission. ...
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A decade after 9/11, it remains the best description and most essential fact about al-Qaida. By Christopher Hitchens The proper task o... -
When Mumtaz Qadri shot Pakistani politician Salman Taseer, he didn't even bother to offer an excuse. By Christopher Hitchens ... -
SKY ARTS 1 / HD: THU 14 APR, 10PM "Sky Arts is screening back-to-back interviews with the Hitchens brothers: writer Peter who's k...
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The Telegraph | Christopher Hitchens’s provocative journalism is greater than the sum of its parts, argues Nicholas Shakespeare as he rev...
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Tickets still available for the Think Inc. Science and Rationalism Conference in Melbourne, Australia. September 18, 2011. More Info: htt...
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May 12, 2010. The Veritas Forum. Christopher Hitchens debates John Haldane on 'We Don't Do God'? Secularism and Faith in the Pub...
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4 comments:
Wonderfully fluent and heartfelt words from Simon Schama. Thankyou.
These news items all state that Mr Hitchens was killed by cancer. That doesn't seem accurate to me. From what I know he was killed by an infection, which his body couldn't resist because his immune system had been decimated by chemotherapy - which is to say that his cause of death was iatrogenic - the treatment killed him, not the disease.
Christopher Hitchens was killed by chemotherapy and pneumonia, or some combination of opportunistic ptathogens, not cancer.
Not that it matters, but I happen to have incurable tongue cancer, so I'm probably somewhat familiar with the treatment regimen Mr Hitchens endured before his passing, so please understand I'm not trying to belittle his struggle or dignity. Quite on the contrary, the bravery he showed in the face of his deteriorating health is of a piece with the rest of his life. It's heartening to see people like Schama affirm the value of his commitment to truth, the basic integrity he held that deserves respect also from those like myself who often disagreed with his opinions.
Becky, I understand from what others have written that Mr Hitchens' life was extended by the treatments, although, not to the extent the world had hoped. You describe your cancer as incurable but hopefully it can be healed.
Love the comparison to Hemingway. Two of the most brilliant writers to grace literature. Thank you, Hitch.
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